Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2012 Nov;55(11):797-803. 10.5468/KJOG.2012.55.11.797.

The association of serum placental growth factor with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and small for gestational age

• Lee JY
• Yang GY
• Park SY
• Hong KS
• Oh SJ
• Park MH
• Chun SH
• Kim YJ

• KMID: 2274147
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2012.55.11.797

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Placental growth factor (PlGF) is one of the many angiogenic factors, which is decreased in placenta and serum during preeclampsia (PE) and also associated with pregnancies complicated by small for gestational age. In this study, we compared serum PlGF levels with different groups (controls, PE patients, pregnant women with small for gestational age [SGA]) and evaluated the usefulness of PlGF for diagnosis.
METHODS
Serum samples were collected at the time of delivery from 40 women with uncomplicated pregnancies, 30 women with PE, 30 women with pregnancies complicated by SGA fetuses. Serum PlGF level was measured in all the samples using Triage PlGF test. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test and receiver operator characteristic curve analysis.
RESULTS
Maternal serum PlGF concentrations in pregnancies complicated by PE (21.17 +/- 15.27 pg/mL) were significantly lower than those in uncomplicated pregnancies (133.70 +/- 158.80 pg/mL, P<0.01) and PlGF concentrations were decreased in pregnancies complicated by SGA fetuses (95.65 +/- 210.36 pg/mL) compared with control group, but there was no statistically significant difference.
CONCLUSION
Decreased PlGF concentrations were observed in pregnancies complicated by PE and SGA. PlGF concentrations in pregnancies complicated by PE was significantly lower than those in uncomplicated pregnancies. By further prospective investigation, we may expect that the PlGF levels during pregnancy will be a marker to identify women at risk for the development of PE and SGA.

Keyword

Pre-eclampsia; Small-for-gestational age; Placental growth factor

MeSH Terms

Angiogenesis Inducing Agents
Female
Fetus
Gestational Age
Humans
Placenta
Pre-Eclampsia
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Triage
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Log 10 PlGF concentrations with gestational age in control women, pregnancies with SGA and PE. PlGF, placental growth factor; PE, preeclampsia; SGA, small for gestational age.

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  Fig. 2 Receiver operator characteristic curves for PlGF discrimination of control vs. PE (area under curve, 0.837; 95% CI, 0.724 to 0.951). Cutoff values of 65.1 pg/mL had 93.3% sensitivity and 68% specificity. PlGF, placental growth factor; PE, preeclampsia; SGA, small for gestational age; CI, confidence interval.

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  Fig. 3 Receiver operator characteristic curves for PlGF discrimination of control vs. SGA (area under curve, 0.771; 95% CI, 0.622 to 0.919). Cutoff values of 59.25 pg/mL had 81.8% sensitivity and 68% specificity. PlGF, placental growth factor; PE, preeclampsia; SGA, small for gestational age; CI, confidence interval.

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